Semiotic analysis, essay by Stephen Daly

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For the purpose of semiotic analysis, I shall be examining the work of Surrealist photographer Claude Cahun who’s work explored gender identity and the subconscious mind during the early 1900’s. Throughout this essay I will focus on discussing the images using semiotic concepts rather than the focal point of the essay being the artist.

Figure 1 Claude Cahun."I am in training Don't kiss me”. 1927.

In figure 1 Cahun’s self-portrait “I am in training don’t kiss me” the signifier is an image of a woman garbed comedically in the iconic attire of a male 1920’s bodybuilder, however what is signified is open to a much deeper interpretation of “a mixing of masculine and feminine signs that does not add up parodies of the hyper masculine hero”1. The denotative signs of the image being the props, costume and pose can be seen just as they are, however looking at these signs with a connotative lens these signs carry a range of meanings. The dumbbell, the punctum of the image, a piece of equipment used by bodyweight trainers signifies 1

Jennifer L. Shaw, Exist Otherwise: The Life and Works of Claude Cahun (London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 2017), p.

87.

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masculinity and male strength, the faux tattoos (I am in training, don’t kiss me) and strongman attire can also be symbolic of the hyper masculine working class male of the 1920’s2. Yet paradoxically in direct contradiction to this Cahun sits in “feminine pose” wearing make-up whilst gently caressing the dumbbell, which can be see as connotative signs of femininity. The studium can be seen after interpretation of the image, is of Cahun’s raising the question of what masculinity is and what is femininity by means of conflating the two3.

Figure 2. Claude Cahun. “Cahun with a mask”. 1929.

In figure 2 there is a stark contrast between the darkness of the background and the whites of Cahun’s face and the mask in the image4. These white images punctuate the photograph 2

theartstory.org, ‘Claude Cahun Photography, Bio, Ideas’, The Art Story <https://www.theartstory.org/artist/cahun-claude/> [accessed 3 March 2021].

3 theartstory.org.

4 Shaw, p. 95.

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and none more-so than the mask. Masks being an indexical sign of wanting to conceal one’s true identity, it could be seen that Cahun is trying to signify the artificiality of the mask as symbolic of a facade Cahun plays whilst in public in contrast to her true self in private5.

Figure 3. Claude Cahun. “Untitled (Cahun on quilt)”. 1928.

In figure 3, Cahun emphasizes the contrast between body and mask which is seen in figure 2. Gone is the iconic shape of a woman’s body, the breasts and genitalia hidden from the viewer by means of Cahun’s pose, with head shaven and face almost completely hidden by the eyeless mask, stripping Cahun of any semblance of humanity or identity6. Gone is any connotative signification of a woman at all, yet we do not see any physical signification of a male body presented to the viewer either. Cahun’s positioning of hands and legs makes it 5 6

Shaw, p. 91.

Shaw, p. 95.

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impossible for the viewer to discern the sex of the body before them7. The artist begs the viewer to question what is gender? What is identity? Why are the two intertwined?8

Figure 4 Cindy Sherman. “Untitled film still #10”. 1978.

Figure 4 is an image (signifier) by the American photographer Cindy Sherman from her series of work “Untitled film stills” in which Sherman costumes herself in various stereotypical female roles found in Hollywood film during this time period9. Cahun’s work was considered “Cindy Sherman Avant la letter” due to the similarity in the nature of her work10.

On a denotative level the image is of a woman picking up her groceries from the floor whilst looking out of frame, however connotatively the image could represent a deeper meaning.

The woman in the image signifies the cliché 1960’s “Hollywood bombshell” wife or girlfriend with the perfect hair, make-up and clothing in the midst of a “feminine chore”11. Her beauty, dress-sense and maquillage are all indexical signs of femininity of the 1960’s 7

Shaw, p. 95. theartstory.org.

9 publicdelivery.org, ‘Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills – Her Groundbreaking Self Portraits – Public Delivery’, 2021 <https://publicdelivery.org/cindy-sherman-untitled-film-stills/> [accessed 3 March 2021].

10 Shaw, p. 87.

11 ‘Modern Classics: Cindy Sherman - Untitled Film Stills, 1977-1980 | Artlead’ <https://artlead.net/content/journal/modern-classics-cindy-sherman-untitled-film-stills/> [accessed 3 March 2021].

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Americana’s cultural imagination of how women are perceived12. Sherman’s image projects the constructed idea of how a woman should look and behave to suit societal norms and due to the era in which this image was taken, it emphasises how women should conform to the cultural zeitgeist which happens to be relevant at the time. In relation to Cahun’s work Sherman also questions what it is to be a woman, what is a woman’s identity and why is it that a woman’s identity has to subscribe to societal constructs of the feminine stereotypes.

For both artists their work extrapolates that gender and sexuality are not biologically inherent but rather social constructs which are learned and performed from a very young age and questions perhaps that women are being forced into certain roles to meet societal expectations13.

Bibliography: artnet.com, ‘Claude Cahun | Artnet’, Claude Cahun <http://www.artnet.com/artists/claudecahun/> [accessed 3 March 2021] 12 13

publicdelivery.org.

Shaw, p. 87.

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‘Modern Classics: Cindy Sherman - Untitled Film Stills, 1977-1980 | Artlead’ <https://artlead.net/content/journal/modern-classics-cindy-sherman-untitled-film-stills/> [accessed 3 March 2021] publicdelivery.org, ‘Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills – Her Groundbreaking Self Portraits – Public Delivery’, 2021 <https://publicdelivery.org/cindy-sherman-untitled-film-stills/> [accessed 3 March 2021] Shaw, Jennifer L., Exist Otherwise: The Life and Works of Claude Cahun (London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 2017) theartstory.org, ‘Claude Cahun Photography, Bio, Ideas’, The Art Story <https://www.theartstory.org/artist/cahun-claude/> [accessed 3 March 2021] Treaster, Joseph B., ‘Overlooked No More: Claude Cahun, Whose Photographs Explored Gender and Sexuality (Published 2019)’, The New York Times, 19 June 2019, section Obituaries <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/obituaries/claude-cahun-overlooked.html> [accessed 16 December 2020]

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